Dinosaur 2
by Mongoose Lover
Summary: Aladar is married to Neera, but he has never known his parents. However, one day he finds that the leader of a group of dinosaurs in the Nesting Grounds is none other than his own mother. Problem is, she's gone missing. Zini meanwhile, has started dating the leader of a lemur clan. And the Nesting Grounds has come under attack, as it did in the past. But who is behind it?
1. OPENING

**DINOSAUR 2: THE PHANTOM OF THE NESTING GROUNDS**

* * *

**CHARACTERS**

* * *

**Aladar Male Iguanodon **

**Neera Female Iguanodon**

**Ayla Female Iguanodon**

**Plio Female Lemur**

**Yar Male Lemur**

**Zini Male Lemur**

**Suri Female Lemur**

**Raj (OC) Female Lemur**

**Baylene Female Giraffatitan**

**Eema Female Styracosaurus**

**Url Male Ankylosaurus**

**Ivan (OC) Male Pteranodon**

**Carnotaurs (OCs) Mixed Carnotaurs **

**Tyrannosaurus Rex (OC) Male Tyrannosaurus Rex**

**Adrian (OC) Male Troodon **

**Stella (OC) Female Troodon**

**Mika (OC) Female Lemur**

**OPENING**

* * *

Kron the Iguanodon and his little sister Neera walked beside the leader of the herd, Kanca. Kron greatly admired Kanca. He was brave, well-respected, and always seemed to know what to do. "So, how long has everybody lived here?" Kron asked.

"The lemurs have been here for generations, but we just found this place about ten years ago." Kanca replied.

"And this place is safe from the carnivores that live out there beyond the entrance to the Nesting Grounds?" Kron asked.

"Yes, we're quite safe here."

"How do they keep the predators out?" asked Neera.

"There is only one entrance to this place and there are guards by itday and night."

"Couldn't we run the risk of them getting in and trapping us all?" Kron asked.

"Not likely. They'd go for the easiest targets, children and the elderly, and then leave when they'd eaten enough."

"We're children." Neera said in concern.

"Not to worry, they haven't gotten past us yet."

Kanca's mate Ayala approached them. "There you are Kanca." she said.

"I'm just talking to Kron and Neera."

"Hi kids."

"Hi Ayala." they replied.

"Kron here is worried about predators getting into the Nesting Grounds." Kanca said to his wife.

"Don't worry Kron, we're perfectly safe here." Ayala reassured him.

"What's it like out there, beyond the Nesting Grounds?" Neera asked.

"There are not many plants to eat and much water to drink. Predators roam and stalk herds. It's livable but nothing like here." Kanca replied.

"Were you the first one to find this place?" Kron asked.

"I was."

"And you brought everyone here?" Neera asked.

"Yes. We had to brave many dangers, but we managed to get most of our group here safely." Kanca replied.

"Kids, there you are!" It was Kron and Neera's mother.

"We're with Ayala and Kanca." Kron said.

"It's getting late. It's time for bed soon."

"Do we _have _to?" Kron moaned.

"Yes, you do Kron."

Neera, Kron, and their mother turned to leave. Just then, a stegosaurus child ran past yelled "Carnotaur!"

"Carnotaur? I thought they couldn't get in." Kron said.

"He's just playing a game." their mother said dismissively.

"Carnotaurs!" came the frightened voices of several adults. It was clear now that this was no game!

"We need to take the children to safety!" Kanca said.

A Spinosaurus came into sight. "Run!" Neera yelled.

Kanca ran underneath its legs. The creature turned around and chased Kanca, leaving Neera with her mother and her brother Kron. Their father soon arrived. "Are you three all right?" he asked.

"Dad, how did all of the predators get in?" Kron asked.

"I have no idea. What matters right now is that you kids get to safety."

"What about you and Mom?" Neera asked.

"We're going to drive the carnivores out. You and Kron go someplace safe."

"Will you guys be all right?" Kron asked.

"We'll be fine." their mother replied.

"Quickly, go!" cried their father.

Neera and Kron began to look for a safe place to hide. "Do you think they'll be all right?" Neera asked her brother.

"They're fully-grown. I'm sure they'll be fine."

As the two looked for a place to hide, they came across two Spinosauruses. "Run!" Kron yelled.

The two ran. After several minutes, they found themselves at a dead end, trapped by a rock wall. "We're done for!" Neera wailed.

"Quick, in here!" came a voice. It was a teenaged female lemur. They followed her into a crevice and hid there for several hours.

"Who are you?" Kron asked.

"My name's Raj."

"What are you supposed to be?" Neera asked.

"I'm a lemur."

"What kind of dinosaur is a lemur?" Kron asked.

"I'm not a dinosaur."

"Then what are you?" Neera asked.

"I'm a mammal."

"I recall that Kanca said that you lemurs have been here forever." Neera said.

"That's correct. We don't come out much because, well, you dinosaurs take up a lot of room and make a lot of noise. Things were much quieter and roomier before you came. We prefer to keep to ourselves."

"How did those meat eaters get in?" Neera asked.

"Probably smelled you leaf eaters. It was only a matter of time before they figured out you were here."

The two hid with Raj and the other lemurs for some time. Finally, Raj came to them and said "I think it's safe to come out now. The meat eaters appear to be gone."

The two ventured out and found the atmosphere eerily quiet. "Where is everyone?" Kron asked.

"I think we should go find them. They're probably worried about us." Neera said.

"I'll go ahead of you. If there's any carnivores about, they'll spot you before they spot me." Raj said.

After walking with Raj for some time, in which they didn't meet any carnivores, they came across Kanca.

"Neera, Kron, you're all right!" he said in relief.

"Where are mom and dad?" Neera asked.

"I'm afraid they didn't make it." Kanca sighed.

"No!" Kron and Neera moaned.

"I'm sorry."

"No, no, no, no, nooooooo!" Neera sobbed uncontrollably.

"Now what are we going to do?" Kron said. He was also devastated, though hadn't taken it quite as hard as his sister.

"We'll take you two in. Don't worry." Kanca said.

"How many were killed?" Kron asked.

"Twenty. Half of them were kids. You two are lucky to be alive."

"It was Raj the lemur that saved us." Neera said.

"Raj? Who's that?" Ayala asked.

"She's the lemur who saved us. She's right here with….." Neera said. She paused, for Raj was no longer with them.

"Raj, where are you?" Kron called.

Raj soon came into view. "I had been heading back as you'd found your friends and I didn't think I was needed anymore."

"We're glad you came along." Kanca said.

"I couldn't let the carnivores eat them, now could I."

"We are forever grateful to you." Ayala said.

After a few weeks, Kron and Neera had finally started to get used to the reality that their parents were dead and that Kanca and Ayala were their new guardians. "They still haven't figured out how the carnivores got in." Kron said.

"Nope." Neera replied.

"At least it's less likely we'll get caught by surprise again."

"I sure hope so."

They heard a snarl nearby. Surely, more predators couldn't have gotten into the Nesting Grounds, could they? The two walked forward cautiously. Suddenly, a t-rex ran around the corner, snapping her maw at Neera and Kron, who narrowly avoided being crushed by her jaws as they came down. The two ran for it. "Tyrannosaurus!" the two cried. They ran, pursued by the hungry carnivore.

They came across Kanca. "Kids, what is it?" he asked, seeing their worried looks.

"A tyrannosaurus rex has gotten into The Nesting Grounds!" Kron replied.

"What?! How?! It couldn't have gotten in the main entrance."

"Kanca, what's the matter?" came Ayala's voice.

"The kids here say that a tyrannosaurus rex has gotten into the Nesting Grounds."

"How would it have gotten in?" Ayala asked.

"No idea. But it doesn't matter right now. What matters most right now is that we stop it before it hurts anyone!"

"Where did you see the Tyrannosaurus?" Ayala asked them.

They didn't have to respond, for with a loud bellowing roar, the Tyrannosaurus had come himself and supplied the answer for them. "Ayala, run with the children! I'll fight it off!" Kanca yelled to his wife.

"Kanca, no! You can't handle it alone!"

Kanca believed that she was probably right. "Ok, you go with me." he said.

"What about us?" Kron asked.

"You go find Raj and stay with her. We can count on her to keep you safe." Ayala replied.

The two children left to go find Raj. However, as soon as Ayala and Kanca were out of sight, Kron stopped and began to head back the other way. "Where are you going?" Neera snapped.

"To see them fight off the Tyrannosaurus."

"It's not safe."

"Are you scared?"

"No."

"Then come on."

The two soon found Ayala and Kanca. It soon became clear that the Tyrannosaurus was more than a match for the pair of them. "Ayala, run!" Kanca barked to his wife.

"What?"

"I said run!"

"Kanca, what about you?"

"I said go!" Ayala hesitated. Kanca rammed the tyrannosaurus in the right leg with his head, knocking it over. He then bolted toward the exit of the Nesting Grounds. The tyrannosaurus got up and took off after him, leaving the Nesting Grounds.

"Kanca, no!" Ayala yelled.

Nobody ever saw Kanca again. His effort had saved everyone else, but it was clear that he'd fallen victim to the Tyrannosaurus. With Kanca's death, Ayala became the new leader of the Nesting Grounds. Ayala had received one last gift from Kanca. Prior to his death, the two had mated and Ayala was now pregnant with their children. Four weeks after Kanca's death, Ayala laid her clutch of eggs. There were twelve of them.

"They look ugly." Neera remarked.

"They're my eggs!" Ayala snapped.

"Still look ugly." Neera said again.

Several weeks later, it was nearing the time that the eggs would hatch. Neera and Kron were off playing, allowing her to be with her eggs. A young dinosaur child came near her nest. She didn't want the kid to accidentally step on her eggs so she shooed him off.

A few moments later, she heard a loud noise. She wondered what it could be. Soon, a hungry carnotaurus came into sight. It charged at her, forcing her out of the way. She was loathe to leave her eggs, but there was no point in dying along with them. She was able to escape the carnotaurus, which instead went for another dinosaur, eating him instead.

The distraction of the creature allowed for the other dinosaurs to attack the predator while it was eating, eventually killing it, though it took two more members of the herd with it before it died. Ayala returned to her nest. Eleven of the twelve eggs had been crushed by the carnotaurus. The other one had vanished and there was no trace of it within the Nesting Grounds.

"How do these predators keep getting in?" Kron asked.

"I have no idea." Ayala replied.

They increased the guards around the entrance to the Nesting Grounds after the carnotaurus attack. However, despite the increased guards, the number of attacks actually increased.

"How in blazes do they keep getting in?" Neera gasped after the herd had fought off the latest attack.

"Not sure. It seems like we're up against a phantom." Ayala replied.

And indeed, as the attacks continued, they were blamed on the Phantom of the Nesting Grounds. Eventually, as time went by, many began to feel that the place was cursed and that they should leave. Ayala, however, urged them to stay. Things finally reached a breaking point when Kron took a group out of the Nesting Grounds to go follow him.

"It's dangerous out there." Ayala, who wanted to stay, argued.

"It'll be safer than in here. This Phantom wants us all dead."

"You're more likely to die out there."

"So you say. I think we should take the risk."

"You're making a big mistake!"

"Are you coming Neera?"

Neera hesitated. She had lived in the Nesting Ground her entire life. Still, she was loathe to leave her brother. "Yes, Kron, I'm coming." And so they had left the Nesting Grounds.


	2. CHAPTER ONE: THE NESTING GROUND

**CHAPTER ONE: THE NESTING GROUNDS**

* * *

Aladar listened as Neera finished telling the story of her and her brother. Aladar now knew why Kron had turned out the way he had. "Ayla still lives here then?" he asked his wife.

"From what I heard. She's not around very often though." Neera replied.

"When was the last time she was here?"

"A few days before we got here. And we've been here about a month."

Their eggs had just hatched. They had eight children of their own plus two orphans that they had adopted. They were all quite a handful. Luckily, he found that he was good with kids. One of the children was getting dangerously close to the water; as none of the children, save the two adopted orphans, could swim yet, Aladar quickly rushed and grabbed her before she could get in over her head.

"Stay away from the water until you know how to swim!" he scolded his daughter.

"Sorry." she replied.

"Wonder why she's been gone so long." Aladar asked Neera.

"Well, apparently most of her eggs had been destroyed in the second attack on the Nesting Grounds. But one vanished. She'd always assumed that some predator had taken it. You see egg thieves also broke into the Nesting Grounds this time and she assumed that they had taken the last egg. However, within the last year or so, from what I've heard, she's been having dreams of her long-lost child returning to her. Over and over. So eventually she began to set out to look for the last of her family. You see, with her husband Kanca being dead and most of her eggs destroyed and her adopted children, Kron and I, being gone for so long, she really had nobody left. I imagine she's desperate to find some ray of hope left."

"I don't think she should be gone that long. Perhaps she ran into trouble."

"Perhaps. But what can we do about it? We're a little busy with ten kids in case you didn't notice."

"I'm sure Uncle Zini would love to help."

Sometime later, Zini, who didn't much like the idea, asked "Why are you looking for her again?"

"Old friend of Neera's. She might have ran into some kind of trouble."

"She's been gone about a month. She could well be dead."

"We've got to know. She helped raise me." Neera replied.

"Your kids, they're nest trained, aren't they?" Zini asked hopefully. Neera shook her head.

"Nope, only the adopted ones."

"You're kidding me!"

"I thought you wanted to have kids."

"I need a girl first."

"Your recent prospects didn't work out?"

"Nah. They thought I was weird."

"Well, they're right." Aladar laughed.

"Hey!"

"I found another group of lemurs recently." Neera said.

"You did?"

"Yeah. They seem shy, and I had to chase after them. Their leader talked to me. Her name is Raj."

"The same Raj that helped hide you and Kron when the carnivores attacked?" Aladar asked.

"It would seem so. She was just a kid then but now it seems she's an adult and the leader of her group."

"Why didn't you mention these lemurs before?"Zini asked.

"I'd forgotten about it?"

"Forgotten? How could you forget?"

"It's easy when you have _ten _kids!"

"Could you take me to them now?"

"Yes."

A short time later, Aladar, Neera, and Zini arrived outside what looked like a large rock at the edge of the Nesting Grounds. "I don't see anybody." Zini remarked, looking around in confusion.

Neera moved aside some moss, revealing a hole in the rock wall"In here." she said.

"Anyone there?" Zini called out.

"Who's there?" came a reply.

"It's me, Neera."

"It didn't sound like Neera just a minute ago."

"I brought some friends." A female lemur came out of the hole. She was flanked by several other lemurs. "Zini, this is Raj."

Zini's first thought about Raj was that she was very good looking. "Is she single?" he whispered to Neera. The iguanodon nodded. "All right!" he cried. The lemurs stared at him. Zini laughed nervously. "Umm, hi, my name is Zini." he said.

"Hello Zini; pleased to meet you." Raj said.

"So, Raj, how long have you been in charge here?" Zini asked.

"Since my mother passed last year."

"Sorry to hear about that." Neera said.

"Well, at least she had a long life." Raj sighed.

'Raj, Aladar and I were going to look for Ayla."

"She's gone far and wide looking for that lost child of hers based on nothing more than some silly dream." Raj sighed.

"I know. But she's raised me for years. I've still got to try and find her."

"But what about your kids?"

"I was going to leave them with Zini here."

"I didn't agree to that!" Zini whined.

"You wanted to find a girlfriend and I found you one." Neera said.

"Come on, Neera, I'm not sure she'd…." Zini began.

I'm open to possibilities." Raj interjected.

"I have lots of possibilities." Zini replied, grinning.

"Well, have fun with the kids Zini." Aladar said as he and Neera walked away.


End file.
